Short & Sweet (Sometimes Sour) Noticing Essays

I know this happens to you, too. You plan and plan and imagine future scenarios and get all excited and just can’t wait….and then something happens to put a damper on things. How often does this happen, as opposed to how often do planned things go off without a hitch? And don’t we get so incredibly disappointed when things don’t occur as we imagined? And if the scales tip the other way and things go almost as imagined, are we incredibly grateful in balance to our disappointment in the other case?

I don’t know the answers to these questions. I am thinking now that I should try to keep score. One column would be Things Go According to Plan. Next to that column would be a rating done after the fact. How grateful was I that this came off without a hitch? Not how happy. How grateful. Then the third column would be titled The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Men Often Go Awry (thank you Robert Burns). Then the fourth column would be How Upset Am I at the Forces of the Universe.

I think it would be an interesting exercise. I wonder if I take for granted plans that work out great, but heartily bemoan those that get messed up.

I have waited two months for the opportunity to drive up north to the country where my new grandson reigns. I had visions of being so helpful and having wonderful close encounters with this amazing baby.

But the minute we arrived, I came down with a sore throat, probably morphing into a cold. I am now on my way to find a breathing mask to shield the baby from my germs.

I give my disappointment that I am not in perfect health a -10, but I have plans to be all recovered in the next day or so and end this trip with a +10 of gratefulness. And I’ll give it a +1000 when every else in the house stays healthy too.

The Did Ya Notice? Project, LLC

The Did Ya Notice? Project™, LLC was founded to encourage you to Notice the world around you while you go about your daily business of working and caring for your family, yourself, and your community. One part of our work is to assist businesses by teaching employees to Notice. Noticing is essential for team-building, better communications, and for innovative leadership. The second part of our work is to make the world a world of Noticers. Margery blogs weekly about things she has Noticed. Her new book is The Noticer’s Guide to Living and Laughing – Change Your Life Without Changing Your Routine. You can also find Margery and The Did Ya Notice? Project on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

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